How has COVID-19 directly impacted your exhibit-marketing program?
There have been several effects of COVID-19 on our exhibit program and our business. Those of us who can do our jobs from home have been working remotely since mid-March. We continue to plan for future events, meeting virtually with our exhibit partners and show organizers. All events and shows have been cancelled in Q2, and one has been postponed twice. We continue to monitor events in Q3 and beyond. While we are anxious to get things back on schedule, we applaud the organizers of each of these shows for their precautions.

What steps are you currently taking to mitigate these impacts?
I have daily check-ins with my team and our partners to ensure they are getting what they need and to see what I can assist them with. For the shows that have been cancelled or postponed, I continue to remain in contact to ensure GE Appliances is a strong partner when we all arrive safely on the other side of this pandemic.

Which of these impacts is the one that most keeps you up at night?
Our team is people-driven. We thrive in a collaborative, in-person environment. I want to ensure that my team members have what they need both professionally and personally as we all navigate the new environment. My goal as we face these challenges is to continue to grow our creativity and come out of this stronger.

Has your workload increased, decreased, or stayed the same?
Professionally, Q2 is always a heavy planning period for the upcoming year, so in many ways the cancellations have allowed my team to focus more on the future. The workload has stayed about the same, but the personal challenges that all of us face add to some of the stress. For me, that includes the additional daily duties with my new "co-workers", a 5- and 7-year-old. Personally, juggling the roles of part-time teacher, short-order cook, husband, father and employee has been difficult. There are only so many hours in the day. My colleagues across the industry are all wrestling with similar situations, so it has been fun to get to know some of them more closely through the surprise younger guests who have appeared in some of our virtual meetings.

In the absence of trade shows and events, what strategies and tactics are you using to achieve objectives such as generating leads, increasing brand awareness, promoting new products, etc.?
GE Appliances has always had a philanthropic arm, which is being flexed even more now. GE Appliances has donated personal protective equipment (PPE), printed 3-D face shields, and our incubator division, First Build, has developed a shield to protect doctors performing intubations. These are just a few of the ways GE Appliances has shown support to our medical and front-line community during this crisis behind the scenes.

Much more publicly facing, the company launched a new initiative to support first responders: GEA4Heroes, www.geappliances.com/GEA4Heroes. This program will donate thousands of products coming off of our assembly lines to health-care workers, firefighters, paramedics, and police officers.

Since we are all working from home, we are taking advantage of our creative juices and utilizing social platforms to share #goodthings, which includes tips and tricks or just happy moments as we are all socially distancing but ensuring we are all in this together. All in all, we are trying to support those who support us, as we are all in this together, and together we will get through this.

Has the absence of trade shows and live events impacted how your company's upper management perceives their value?
If anything, we expect that our events and return on investment will be stronger in the future, as those who attend shows will have specific reasons to be there.

When you think about managing your program during the next 12 months, what concerns you the most, and why?
There are a lot of concerns. Will some of these shows come back? Will all our vendor partners make it through? Will attendees want to gather en masse and attend shows the same way they did prior to Covid-19?

How do you think the future of face-to-face will change as a result of this pandemic?
I expect that once everything has opened up, there will be some more regulations. I am not sure what those will be, but they may include temperature checks at show entrances, hand sanitizer stations at booth entrances, and further restrictions on food samples given to attendees.

How optimistic are you that shows you've regularly attended will return once the pandemic is over?
I am very optimistic that all of the shows we regularly attend will return. Many of them have been around for 50-plus years and have weathered worldwide crises before. They will weather this too.

How optimistic are you that suppliers you've regularly worked with will still be in business once the pandemic is over?
I believe that most of my vendor partners are set up to make it through this. I have seen many of them make it through severe economic downturns only to come out of them stronger than when they entered.

What lessons have you learned from this COVID crisis that may benefit your program moving forward?
Be vigilant, be resourceful, and most of all thankful for your established partnerships.

What changes, if any, should the trade show and events industry collectively consider implementing as a result of this pandemic?
I expect that there will be some rise in virtual events that spring up from this pandemic. Many are frightened by this idea, but I believe that they have their place. I always think of any of these marketing items as a tool in my toolbox, and I always like to have the right tool for the job. Know what you want to accomplish, know how you intend to measure success, and use the right tool to get it done.

Read more interviews with exhibit managers coping with COVID-19.